vintage john lennon re-issue limited edition of 250 of the j160e

[g6120]

Gibson offered a vintage john lennon re-issue in a limited edition of 250 of the j160e i believe in 2002 .

 

is anyone familiar with this guitar and know what the current market value is .

 

i was told its a bit closer to the likes of the original than the examples being made today including the laminated spruce top version with the ladder bracing .

 

g6120

[tedkul]

Gibson did 250 John Lennon signature J-160Es in 1999 and 500 more in 2000. They were sunburst. They were almost identical to Lennon's 1962 guitar but had the wrong tuners and the signature truss-rod cover, which Lennon's obviously didn't have. The saddle of the adjustable bridge assembly was corian instead of the original ceramic, but that's an easy enough fix.

 

In 2002, Gibson began offering a limited edition (of 750) the PEACE J-160E, which was *inspired* by Lennon's stripped J-160E. Structurally identical, but many cosmetic differences.

 

If you're looking for a Lennon-spec sunburst J-160E, the only online seller is www.guitarsale.com (do a search on "160"), but your local 5-star Gibson dealer may be able to order you one.

 

Lennon-spec is -ALL laminated woods

-ladder-bracing (instead of the more common X-bracing)

-adjustable saddle

 

The J-160E VS STD and the "Modern Classic" are basically J-45s with an electric pickup and some cosmetic similarities to the J-160E. NOT Lennon's guitar. Note that most people consider the real J-160E to be a crappy acoustic guitar. I have one, and I love it, but to each their own.

 

If you're looking for details on the Beatles' instruments, I recommend www.beatgearcavern.com for more information than you ever thought possible to know about Beatles gear.

[g6120]

great thanks for the information

 

have any idea what the limited 250 edtion signature 160s are going for from 1999 ?

 

are the guitarsale sunburst 160e versions closer to the originals than any others to date -

 

g6120

[tedkul]

The only discrepancies between the guitarsale models, and Lennon's 1962 J-160E, as far as I can tell are as follows:

 

1. Wrong tuners. These are what Lennon's had: KLUSON DOUBLE RING, SINGLE LINE TULIPS

 

2. The pickguard is made out of thinner material than pickguards were in the 1960s--I'm sure someone else on this forum here can chime in about this.

 

3. The white binding is probably a touch narrower than the binding on the 1960s guitars, but this is on hearsay, I haven't verified this myself.

 

4. Lennon's guitar didn't have "Historic Collection" decal on back of the headstock.

 

Otherwise, you've got a completely Lennon-spec guitar there.

 

The Lennon-sigs from 1999 and 2000 seem to be going for anywhere from $1700-$2700, depending on the usual factors (condition, case-candy, serial #, etc.). I don't think they've really increased in value as investment pieces, although I couldn't really swear to it, as not many come up for sale.

[g6120]

hello

 

thank you for the information much appreciated -

 

today i will be looking over a gibson signature john lennon j160e which is used but is supposed to be in excellent condition .

 

 

g6120

[g6120]

well i went as mentioned to check that lennon signature gibson j160e that was manufatured in 2000 and the # was somewhere around 420 of 500 made that year .

 

i was just about trembling as i looked at the fabulous cool sunburst wow and in great condition well taken care of for sure . the action was low just as i like it picked it up starting just strumming and the harder i hit the strings the more that beatle charm projected . then i decided to plug the guitar in a acoustic amp and thats about when i reolized that it sounded like an electric guitar and i fiddled around with the ajustments on the amp but it did not really sound the way i imagined .

 

i reolize that geoge martin used mics on these guitars and amps which the combination of that and going straight in the board gave these guitars the magic that is on the beatles records . im not certain maybe im comparing it to what i hear from my gibson j 200 which sounds incredible .

 

back in 1970 i had a j160e for a few years which i did like and there are people that love the way they sound but i guess that guitar is

just not the one for me .

 

g6120

[dg3086]

Okay...I missed something here.

 

Are you saying that George Martin mic'd the Beatles guitars directly and that they played acoustically? Or, that he mic'd their guitar amps? Or, are you saying that he plugged their amp output into the soundboard? Or are you saying that he bypassed using an amp and plugged their instruments directly into the sound board? Guess I didn't follow.

 

I own an Epiphone EJ-160E and love its' tone unplugged. It also sounds great to me when plugged into an amp. But I'm not specifically looking for a Beatles sound...I just dig this unique and versatile guitar.

[Aintree]

Lennon's first J-160E (and George's as well) also had knob pointers. The sunburst finishes on those guitars was narrower around the top than those done today, even on the Lennon reissues. I believe that Gibson has gone back to using an actual P-90 pickup. For a while the J-160E VS used a P-100 which is actually a stacked humbucker, and does not sound at all like a real P-90, although it is a quieter pickup.

 

Also, the J-160 is not a tarted-up J-45. The neck joins the body at the 15th fret making for easier playing on the upper neck. And the neck profile is different than a J-45.

 

As far as recording techniques at Abbey Road, I am not aware of any "through the board" use of the J-160E. The guitars were either treated as "electric" and run through mic'd Vox amps, or as "acoustic" and mic'd like any other acoustic guitar. On many of the early recordings the acoustic you hear is actually leakage into the vocal mics as most of the recordings basic tracks were recorded live in the studio (Misery, Anna, Do You Want To Know A Secret, for example). Hope that helps.....